As rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine faces life for murder - here's his plea deal

The Who tour 2020: how to get tickets, pre-sale details, dates and venues for next year’s UK shows

Westlife concert: tickets, pre-sale and album details

Green Day tour 2020: where to get tickets, pre-sale details, and full UK dates as Fall Out Boy and Weezer join Hella Mega Tour

The i newsletter

News for free thinkers

Email address:

It’s a nice to think that Ariana Grande is the biggest pop star in the world because of her voice. Though it’s not inconceivable – her singing abilities are arguably on a par with Mariah Carey or Whitney Houston – to become as successful as she is in the pop industry of 2019, there has to be more to it. Right?

The 26-year-old superstar arrives in the UK for the first time since 2017 this weekend to kick off the European leg of her Sweetener world tour, with two shows at London’s O2 Arena. Due to high demand, she’ll be back in London for two extra shows in October. The nation has boarded the Grande express.

Successful is an understatement – she even has a song by the same name. She’s the most listened-to female artist on both Spotify and Apple Music, Time named her one of 2019’s most influential people in the world and, with the release of her last album thank u, next, she became both the first solo artist to hold the three top spots on America’s Billboard 100 chart and the first artist ever to have every lead single from their first five albums make the top 10.

There are plenty of talented singers who haven’t reached Grande’s stratospheric levels of fame, but perhaps that’s because they haven’t got Scooter Braun behind them. Not only is he the management powerhouse behind Justin Bieber and Kanye West, he’s also just signed a first-look deal with Amazon for TV shows and films. He is also the man Taylor Swift called an “incessant, manipulative bully”.

Theatrical background

That’s not enough to turn a completely unknown Italian American girl from Florida into the Ariana Grande we know today. So where did it all begin? Grande was (still is) a musical theatre geek and was cast in her first Broadway show, 13, aged 15. Then she played a supporting character on Nickelodeon kid’s sitcom Victorious.

Grande didn’t seem to struggle with transitioning to adulthood in the public eye. Meanwhile The Jonas Brothers’ recent comeback has only just shaken their good boy image and Miley Cyrus is still held to the enforced responsibility of once being Hannah Montana. But Grande can release a song about having so much sex she can’t walk (“Side To Side”) and no one bats an eyelid. More people were outraged at her licking a doughnut she hadn’t paid for.

Ariana Grande attends Billboard’s Women In Music 2018 with FIJI water on 6 December 2018 (Getty Images for FIJI Water)

All these elements help to explain why the star is so loved, but there’s one key element that pulls it all together: her honesty. Rather than an untouchable, unattainable celebrity, Grande is unafraid to be herself and lay her cards on the table, especially if she’s been dealt a bad hand.

The past few years have not been kind to Grande. Most horrifically, in May 2017, 23 people were murdered by a suicide bomber at her concert in Manchester. Since then, her very public engagement to Saturday Night Live comedian Pete Davidson ended and her ex-boyfriend, rapper Mac Miller, died.

Grande wore her pain openly and put it into her work. Her last two albums have been her most commercially successful and critically acclaimed. The internet has played a huge part in both Grande’s personal recovery and the building of her brand. She tweets when she’s sad or happy or overwhelmed; she has conversations with her fans, encouraging them to look after one another.

She’s serious about her belief in women’s rights and is a constant source of support for the LGBTQ+ community. At every gig in the US there is a booth set up where fans can register to vote.

Over her voice, her team, her history in the industry and even her struggles, it’s the woman we gravitate to – she acts like a real human in the same terrifying world we are all trying to navigate. In an industry so full of pomp and pretence, that’s worth its weight in gold.

As rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine faces life for murder - here's his plea deal

The Who tour 2020: how to get tickets, pre-sale details, dates and venues for next year’s UK shows

Westlife concert: tickets, pre-sale and album details

Green Day tour 2020: where to get tickets, pre-sale details, and full UK dates as Fall Out Boy and Weezer join Hella Mega Tour

The i's Essential Daily Briefing

We know that sometimes it’s easier for us to come to you with the news. That's why our new email newsletter will deliver a mobile-friendly snapshot of inews.co.uk to your inbox every morning, from Monday to Saturday.

This will feature the stories you need to know, as well as a curated selection of the best reads from across the site. Of course, you can easily opt out at any time, but we're confident that you won't.

Oliver Duff, Editor

By entering your email address and clicking on the sign up button below, you are agreeing to receive the latest daily news, news features and service updates from the i via email. You can unsubscribe at any time and we will not pass on your information.